Suzhou is asrefined and beautiful as local food is tasty and flavorful.This blessing wasn't lost on the locals,who are known to be serious foodies. Sweet snacks,Suzhou cuisine,coffee and tea,and international food are only some of the culinary highlights of thiscity.A wise man once said:to everything there is a season,and a time for every snack in Suzhou!
Suzhou Noodles 苏式面
Noodles and tea is the breakfast of choice for many locals.Suzhounese are proud of their noodles,which they make with grea care attention,downto the most minutedetail.Have a taste of traditional Suzhou noodles served in a savory soup andwih a garnish of meator vegetables dish
The classic dish to go with noodles:braised meat,fried fish,greens
经典浇头：焖肉、爆鱼、大排、 素什锦等
Suzhou soup noodles are tasty enough on their own,but without the garnish,they're like an unfinished masterpiece.Without delicious garnish on your noodles, you won’t have truly experienced Suzhou food!Braised meat,fried fish,greens are absolute classics!
Fengzhen Town Pork Noodles 枫镇大肉面
In the summer,the people of Suzhou are extremely fond of Fengzhen Town Pork Noodles.The clear,appetizing soup is made from eel and pork bones,with a touch of rice alcohol.Noodles are then poured into a bowl, and a slice of pork meat,with just the right balance of fat and lean meat, is placed ontop Even on a hot summer day,not a living soul could resist this bowl of Fengzhen Town Pork Noodles with the juicy and fragrant pork.
Crab Oil Noodles 秃黄油面
By frying the best part ofthe crab together, we'll get the delicious crab oil,which locals call Tuhuang oil.These are the alpha and omega of all noodles.Look out!They're available only during the fall season.
Three Shrimps Noodles 三虾面
The name maybe misleading.You thought you were about to order noodles with threetypes of shrimps? Wrong! These soup noodles owe their names to the three parts o the shrimp that make up the broth of thesoup:the meat,the eggs and the head.In early summer, during mating season, the females produce a large amount of eggs.That is the best time we catch them.The fresh shrimps are then cut into 3 parts, which are cooked separately into a broth.Available only from June to August, don't mis out!
Gaotuan
Gaotuan is an exquisite typical dessert made of glutinous-rice and filled with seasonal stuffing.If you have a sweet tooth,have a try of this Suzhou style Gaotuan!
Qingtuan 青团子
As a tradition,Suzhounese savour Qingtuan, green dumplings made with glutinous rice and Chinese Mugwort,around Tomb-sweeping day.It can be flled with sweet red bean paste rose or black sesame.When still hot out of the pan,they let out a swet grassy smell and their chewy texture complements neatly their refreshing taste.
Meat mooncake 鲜肉月饼
Around the Mid-autumn Festival,you'll often see queues of people waiting for their turn to buy freshly made meat mooncakes. These deliciously crispy cakes are stuffed with juicy meat filing. Soft and erispy fresh and savory,these mooncakes taste like heaven!
Meat Dumpling 炒肉馅团子
Similar to Shanghai dumplings, these Suzhou meat dumplings sell like hot cake in the beginning of the summer and are taken offthe market in September. Best consumed freshly made and cooked, these deliciousdumplings are filled with meatjuice, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, dried day lily, and shelled shrimp.
Osmanthus Cake 桂花糕
The osmanthus flower is the emblem of Suzhou, but it is also the main ingredient to a much-sought-fordessert. In the fall, when osmanthus flowers blossom, the whole city is perfumed with their sweet fragrance. Osmanthus cakes are made with natural and simple ingredients and are best enjoyed with tea.
Suzhou Cuisine
Highly seasonal,the regional cuisine stresses the importance of ingredients as much ascooking mehods. The typical Suzhou dish will retain the natural flavors of the ingredients while complementing them subtly with seasoning. Don't be surprised if you see your dinner table turn into a procession of dishes of all colors and shapes.
Biluochun Tea and Shrimps 碧螺虾仁
Bilunchun Tea and shrimpsare cooked together. The two ingredients area mach made in heaven. You can't leave this place until you've tried this dish!
Chinese Hairy Crab 阳澄湖大闸蟹
In the fall, you will find plenty of such crabs at the local aquatic product market. Thick and flavorful, their meat is well accompanied by champagne or white wine, but it tastes even better with local rice wine Huangjiu.
Whitebait and Water Shield Soup 莼菜银鱼羹
This soup is a typical Suzhou dish that fully brings out the freshness of the water shield, eggs and the taste of the whitebait.
Mutton 羊肉
In the fall and winter seasons,mutton is the most sought-after meat in Suzhou. Cangshu mutton,a dish of more than 400 years of history, is a nutritious meal that many locals enjoy. The mutton can be cooked and prepared in different ways, either braised or served cold, and itcan be mixed with Chinese cabbage and vermicelli in a pot. Each place has its own recipe of choice: white cuts in Dongshan, braised inTaoyuan or even served with soup noodles in Taicang and Changshu.
Jiangfang 酱方
In the winter, locals like nothing better than Jiangfang, literally paste square pork meat, to help them bear the cold weather. These squares are made of pork-belly which is in turn roasted, cooked, stewed and braised. The result is these delicious-looking jellied squares, which melt in your mouth with tantalizing aroma.
Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish 松鼠鳜鱼
This is a classic of Suzhoucuisine. Preparedby carving amandarin fish into asquirrel shape batter before dousing it in sweet and sour sauce, the squirrel fish never disappoints!
